S40.E09: War is Not Pretty

[GaT]

I found Adam so annoying at tribal that I was practically begging them to vote him off, though watching him trying to pull the fleur-de-lis off of the podium was gold.

[Primetimer]

Primetimer's Joe Reid weighs in on tonight's show

Quote

It was insane. Adam fruitlessly trying to jiggle that little pendant loose, looking for all the world like a yappy little puppy humping the leg of a complete stranger while its owner looks on, helpless and mortified. (The role of the owner, in this case, was played by everybody else on the tribe and the jury looking on.) 

More here:

Survivor Was One Fleur-de-Lis Away From the Most Chaotic Tribal Council Ever
https://www.primetimer.com/features/survivor-was-one-fleur-de-lis-away-from-the-most-chaotic-tribal-council-ever

[Lantern7]

1 hour ago, Cotypubby said:

My eyes were rolling every single time he kept repeating “Fleur de LISS.” It’s fleur de LEE.

 

1 hour ago, Kerri Okie said:

Except that he pronounced it wrong.

So Adam couldn't get that right as well. Man, he is painful to watch. Once again, he got closer to the correct pronunciation than I could, but he's still hopeless. And how much do you want to bet that Ben will do the same thing, only he'll actually yank the fleur-de-lis out? And since he would get it loose, Probst would count it as an official idol. The sadist in me wants to see that happen just for Adam's reaction.

Edited to add the hyphens.

Edited April 9, 2020 by Lantern7

[HeShallBMySquishy]

That structure is not a podium, that structure is a lectern. A podium is the raised platform on which someone stands, like Olympic medallists after the win.

3 hours ago, Lamima said:

I am alone on my island of 1 who likes Adam and was sad to see him go and in such a way.

Hate Tony and starting to hate Ben. And, for the love of all that's holy, please do not let Michelle win this. She is so blahhhh and yet never really on anyone's hit list. I was a little excited when her name was mentioned tonight. But then EVERYONE'S name got mentioned...twice or thrice. 

I like Sophie, Jeremy, Denise.

 

1 hour ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

I'll join you on that island! I liked him, Yul and Ethan so now that he's gone, I don't give a flying fuck who wins, as long as it's not Ben. Ben produces a visceral reaction in me.... everything about him irritates me.

I'm here! Don't tell anybody, but I've always liked him, despite how much of a bumbling busybody he is. But tonight, I really don't know what to say. He really seemed a few sandwiches short of a picnic tonight, and as much as I'd like to think that had he taken a few breaths, kept his mouth shut, and not panicked in the way that he did, then Nick may have gone. But I think @LadyChatts is right, I think it was likely Adam going into Tribal.

Adam and Ben act like a married couple in their seventies who have decades of resentments behind them, take pleasure in undermining each other, who will never, under any circumstance, divorce.

And yes to putting a stop to all that bullshit whispering! It may have been something novel the first time it happened, but it's such cheap pointless drama on the part of the producers to not clue the audience in on what's being said. And we all know they would, being the fine upstanding producers they are.

Well, now that Adam's gone, I really don't know who else to root for really, but I've been steadily becoming a Sophie fans for some time now, and I am loving how perceptive and astute she is. Sophie and Denise for F2!

 

 

[Babalu]

Note on pronunciation because I’m a nerd and a Francophile: 

Several years ago, Top Chef had its finale at Hubert Keller’s now-closed restaurant, Fleur de Lys, in San Francisco, and I was surprised when Hubert pronounced it “fluhr de leess” because I’d always heard it without the “s.” I just looked it up, and it appears this is how most French people pronounce it, while Americans and British people omit the “s” sound at the end. So Adam wasn’t wrong, maybe just a little pretentious.

[Sarnia]

I have not watched this episode, I just come here to enjoy the discussions (I'm still not over the royal mess that was last season), but I'm French and in France we definitely pronounce the "s" at the end of "Lys" (and it's a hard s, like "liss", not "liz"). But maybe it's not pronounced that way in English-speaking countries (and maybe Adam is French, or pedantic).

[simplyme]

From a comment on http://throwgrammarfromthetrain.blogspot.com/2010/02/word-fleur-de-lis.html

"As a French speaker, I can say with authority that it is not really a pronunciation problem at all, but rather a spelling one. "Fleur de lis" literally means "lily flower" but there are two ways of spelling it: "lis" and "lys". This is because it's an old word and during periods of foreign influence in France, many words that were spelled with i began being spelled with y (just like king, which is spelled as both "roi" and "roy"). But y is not really a French letter, and most French people make a point of this by changing the pronunciation by stressing it. Therefore, if it's spelled as "lis" it should be pronounced LEE, because a lone s after an i is normally silent in French. If it is spelled "lys" however, it should be pronounced LISS, like in "kiss", although the s sound isn't that hard. ( But NOT LEES, no one says Fleur de LEES!!!)

Long story short, it is either "fleur de lis" = Fluhr de LEE, or it is "fleur de lys" = Fluhr de LIS. Neither "lis" nor "lys" should ever be pronounced LEES."

ETA: And I'm beat to the punch by an actual French person. Doh.

Edited April 9, 2020 by simplyme
eta I'm too slow

[violet and green]

Oh, yes yes yes yes yes yes YES! I am so happy. That final pout... Superb! For a long horrible moment I thought that the comedic edit Adam had had prior was about to be overturned when the decoration turned out to be an actual idol... and then we got the payoff for enduring the goddamn endless mansplaining manchild confessionals all freaking season! YESSSSSS!

[Msample]

Was I the only one who thought the “yesterday was my birthday” was a Johnny Fairplay con ?

 

[SuburbanHangSuite]

5 hours ago, ByaNose said:

I think the reason they are keeping Tyson in the game is because he won’t win. I think the general consensus by the previous Survivors is that they hated EoE and that Chris Underwood won. I get the feeling the jury won’t award someone who won their way back in the game. He could make the Final 3 but I don’t think he’d win. IMO!!!!

I thought of that too but Devins made it back from EoE and I definitely thought he should've won.  Chris?  Not so much.  

Thanks for all the clarification on the "fleur de lis" pronunciation.  During that whole exchange with Adam & Michelle, I really got the impression that the editors were clowning him with the subtitles--implying that he was mispronouncing.   Learn something new everyday.

[Haleth]

Like I said last night, weather prevented me from seeing most of TC along with other parts of the show, but there are a couple things I want to comment on.  I did get to see Adam try to take the emblem from the podium.  I don't think Jeff was mocking him as much as thinking, gee, why didn't we think of this?  It was actually kind of brilliant and if Adam felt silly for trying it, he would have kicked himself had he learned later that it really was an idol.  The other players were giggling, but they must have respected his gutsy play.  Good for him for trying.

Other than that though he was a weenie, whining about his name coming up.  And I wanted to smack him every time he mispronounced fleur de lis.

It's surprising me how much I'm enjoying Tony this time.  He seems to have the right attitude about it being a game.  Going after someone isn't personal, it's strategy.  Well, that is until his name comes up.  But what the heck makes him think he's a high profile player?  Brother.

Yeah, that "winners at war" song was really bad.

 

[tessa]

Someone watched CBS all access and said that it appears that Parvati did buy the PB but only shared it with a couple of other players and Danni wasn't one of them.

[skybolt]

9 minutes ago, tessa said:

Someone watched CBS all access and said that it appears that Parvati did buy the PB but only shared it with a couple of other players and Danni wasn't one of them.

Are the secret scenes out for this episode? They must've showed how Parvati spent her tokens.

It's interesting that with everyone running around panicking like chickens with their heads cut off during tribal, Sophie was as cool as a cucumber.

[ByaNose]

18 minutes ago, tessa said:

Someone watched CBS all access and said that it appears that Parvati did buy the PB but only shared it with a couple of other players and Danni wasn't one of them.

and, it was because of Danni that Parvati found the clue. Cold blooded. LOL!!!

[skybolt]

I feel bad for the old school players at EoE. We all know that Adam can't turn it off and will maintain his chaotic self at edge looking for idols under Rob's butt. It'll get even worse if Ben is voted out next and their bickering rolls over onto edge. If Yul thought Parvati and Wendell arguing was bad, he hasn't seen anything yet.

 

[dsteele]

11 hours ago, Daisy said:

There are no words that can explain how much i loathe the whispering and crap at tribal. 

Could not agree more. This has really gotten out of hand during the last few seasons.

[skybolt]

1 hour ago, Haleth said:

It's surprising me how much I'm enjoying Tony this time.  He seems to have the right attitude about it being a game.  Going after someone isn't personal, it's strategy.  Well, that is until his name comes up.  But what the heck makes him think he's a high profile player?  Brother.

 

 

As others have mentioned before, Tony is playing similar to his first season, even down to giving people advice about their game. Him going to Michelle and Nick after the last tribal was really bold, but potentially a good move. By telling Nick to calm down and not let his emotions get the better of him is actually good advise. A.) It deflects Nick's ire to another player and B.) if Nick and Michelle are sitting in the jury and don't have any clear favorites, they may decide to vote for Tony solely based on moments like this.

[Guest]

I could be giving Tony too much credit, but I think when he is talking about himself as a high profile player, he doesn't mean "high profile" in the sense that he's more important or better, but rather that he's more...demonstrative, I guess. More obvious in how he's playing rather than someone like Nick or Michele.

And I don't think Jeff was mocking Adam, either. I think he was having a liiitle bit of fun with him with the whole "and you're sure this isn't an idol?", but when Adam went up to get snuffed and said "You have to try", Jeff said "Always." So I think he appreciated the attempt,

While the silent treatment Adam got at tribal was awkward, I don't think anyone there really dislikes him. I think a lot of the reactions when he went up to grab the fleur-de-lis had some affection behind them, especially Denise's. And Adam's smile and "Good luck" to everyone as he left felt very genuine. Aside from possibly Ben, I don't think anyone has a problem with Adam...they just found him difficult to play the game with.

[skybolt]

32 minutes ago, skybolt said:

Are the secret scenes out for this episode? They must've showed how Parvati spent her tokens.

It's interesting that with everyone running around panicking like chickens with their heads cut off during tribal, Sophie was as cool as a cucumber.

Ok, so after watching the secret scene, I'm a bit confused. It appears that Parvati spent all the tokens on a jar of peanut butter. Why has the price quadrupled all of a sudden? Did the EoE menu change after the merge? Is she buying 4 jars?

[Bouffe]

11 hours ago, willco said:

I think even if you don't like Adam ( and it appears that many people don't ), that was not a bad thing with the podium 'idol'. Hey, if it really  had been an actual idol, that would have been fantastic. And he would have gotten many props, I suspect-- but then, 10 minutes later back at camp & when he was out of earshot- the group would be like "Adam has to go !! Huge target now !! blah blah blah. "

Not a fan of Adam, but you are absolutely right. If this had been an idol, it would have been an awesome move! I half believed it was right up until Adam actually tried to pry it off.

[Bouffe]

11 hours ago, driver18 said:

I like the whispering. I thought it was awesome when it first happened and I've thought it was either entertaining, hilarious, or awesome again depending on the TC. Tonight I found it super entertaining. I'll gladly sit here on edge of extinction alone on this topic.

I don't mind the whispering either. But it seemed to go on forever tonight. I know it's all in the editing, and for all we know, it always goes on as long as it did in this episode. They showed an awful lot of it tonight. I guess they had to so they could show the arguing between Adam and Ben.

[ByaNose]

Just re-watched Tribal Council and everyone was on the edge of their seat when Adam attacked the podium. They weren't sure what he was doing but then as Jeff led Adam on they weren't really sure it wasn't an HII. Kim had a great reaction shot where she isn't sure Adam isn't wrong. It was a good attempt. I give Adam points for even noticing it. There is so much going on to begin with and that he even noticed it is impressive. I didn't even recall that the Denise's idol was a flor de lis until they showed the flashback.

Edited April 9, 2020 by ByaNose

[LanceM]

1 hour ago, tessa said:

Someone watched CBS all access and said that it appears that Parvati did buy the PB but only shared it with a couple of other players and Danni wasn't one of them.

I am not sure that is true at all. I watched the secret scene and they showed her talking with Rob and Ethan how she bought the peanut butter. She also said that she buried it and that they would tell "the others" where it was buried. There was never any mention at all about not telling Danni

[SoWindsor]

I didn’t watch Adam’s season but I really like him. He’s very entertaining and makes the show much more interesting— especially since all my old school favorites are on EOE.

Of course he had to try to see if the fleur de lys was a HII. It did look just like the HII Denise had. I agree that the producers are probably mad they didn’t think of it.

Adam went down fighting. So what if people think he “embarrassed himself.” He did everything he could and should have no regrets about his performance at tribal.

As a viewer, unfortunately every player I like has been voted off. Definitely not what I was hoping for this season. 

[Bouffe]

11 hours ago, SuburbanHangSuite said:

I can't believe that no one picked Denise in the Reward Challenge.  I actually think she's the strongest woman there despite being petite.

I'm really, really surprised that Tyson doesn't seem to be on anyone's radar.  Weird and more than a little foolish on their parts.

I agree about Denise. Maybe she volunteered? Who knows. As for Tyson, I'm not a fan of his, but yes, if I was a player, I'd vote him out as soon as possible.

 

5 hours ago, Sarnia said:

I have not watched this episode, I just come here to enjoy the discussions (I'm still not over the royal mess that was last season), but I'm French and in France we definitely pronounce the "s" at the end of "Lys" (and it's a hard s, like "liss", not "liz"). But maybe it's not pronounced that way in English-speaking countries (and maybe Adam is French, or pedantic).

I am french canadian and we pronounce it fleur de liss as well. Actually we use both pronounciations, but "liss" more often. With the way Adam pronounced "fleur", I think he was going for the french prononciation.  

 

2 hours ago, Msample said:

Was I the only one who thought the “yesterday was my birthday” was a Johnny Fairplay con ?

 

I briefly thought about that, too! Although I am not sure Nick has that kind of play in him. Not quite his style, IMO.

[blackwing]

27 minutes ago, tracyscott76 said:

While the silent treatment Adam got at tribal was awkward, I don't think anyone there really dislikes him. I think a lot of the reactions when he went up to grab the fleur-de-lis had some affection behind them, especially Denise's. And Adam's smile and "Good luck" to everyone as he left felt very genuine. Aside from possibly Ben, I don't think anyone has a problem with Adam...they just found him difficult to play the game with.

I find him exhausting to watch at home, I can’t imagine what it would be like to be stuck on the island playing the game with him.  During his first season he always struck me as the classic nerd who was overly excited to finally be living his dream and living amongst and fitting in with the cool kids.  It was no different here.  I can’t stand his voice and the way he talks.  He’s pompous, pretentious and pedantic. 

5 hours ago, Sarnia said:

I have not watched this episode, I just come here to enjoy the discussions (I'm still not over the royal mess that was last season), but I'm French and in France we definitely pronounce the "s" at the end of "Lys" (and it's a hard s, like "liss", not "liz"). But maybe it's not pronounced that way in English-speaking countries (and maybe Adam is French, or pedantic).

Just saw this post.  I’m pretty sure he’s Jewish.   I am sure there must be some French Jews out there but I imagine he’s not one of them.  I’m going with pedantic.  
 

Thanks for the info about Parv and the peanut butter.  I had been wondering.  So odd.  She tells everyone about the advantage and how she’s trading it for peanut butter so her group (which I interpreted to mean “everyone except Yul and Wendell”) could get some nutrition.  But then excludes some of them?   That was a scene that we should have seen on the show.

[Guest]

20 minutes ago, Bouffe said:

I don't mind the whispering either. But it seemed to go on forever tonight. I know it's all in the editing, and for all we know, it always goes on as long as it did in this episode. They showed an awful lot of it tonight. I guess they had to so they could show the arguing between Adam and Ben.

I'm indifferent on the whispering generally, but the bolded is what set this one apart for me. The absurdity of Adam and Ben having this lover's quarrel over whether or not they were targeting each other while everyone else is scurrying around sealing Adam's demise was pure comedy and delightful. Even if Adam's resigned "I don't feel better" after it was over was a little sad.

[RedbirdNelly]

It was such an Adam moment trying to pull of the possible idol--given he was the one who couldn't get his torch in the hole that first tribal.

I don't blame Adam for trying. I do blame him for relying on it. In his post-vote confessional he said he played overly aggressive relying on that (not a real) idol. I can't understand playing in reliance on it. Being willing to try to use it is one thing. Convincing yourself it is real such that you can rely on it for your game is another. Also, he stupidly told Michelle about it. Why do that? If it was real, there is nothing to stop any other player at any vote from walking up there and trying to grab it. 

[skybolt]

10 minutes ago, RedbirdNelly said:

It was such an Adam moment trying to pull of the possible idol--given he was the one who couldn't get his torch in the hole that first tribal.

I don't blame Adam for trying. I do blame him for relying on it. In his post-vote confessional he said he played overly aggressive relying on that (not a real) idol. I can't understand playing in reliance on it. Being willing to try to use it is one thing. Convincing yourself it is real such that you can rely on it for your game is another. Also, he stupidly told Michelle about it. Why do that? If it was real, there is nothing to stop any other player at any vote from walking up there and trying to grab it. 

Adam is an interesting character. If he just dialed back his game play a little bit, he could've been a good candidate to take to the end as a goat. However, he was just wayyyy too unstable for anyone's game, since he could blow up at any moment and take you down with him.

[peachmangosteen]

13 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

With that being said it doesn't seem like they gave them that much food. Just a carton or two of lo mein. Show is getting cheap. Remember how they used to go into the native countries and have these elaborate feasts? 

There looked to be at least 10-15 cartons of food there.

7 hours ago, HeShallBMySquishy said:

Adam and Ben act like a married couple in their seventies who have decades of resentments behind them, take pleasure in undermining each other, who will never, under any circumstance, divorce.

*sniffles* I'm gonna miss them! Hopefully, Ben goes next and they can continue to entertain me on EoE.

Finally, a fun episode! Nick and Michele being petty and pouty as hell, every Ben and Adam scene, Jeremy's reactions to the vote changing every second, just so many amazing moments.

Sarah whining and acting superior because Nick dared to mention voting her out reminded me why I could never stand her. I didn't really buy her 'I did it because I'm human!" about giving Nick the reward, but honestly she had to have known that would only hurt her so maybe she really did it to be nice. Either way, stupid move lol.

I am super over this 'let's all vote the same way' bullshit. This isn't fucking Big Brother! I need people to break away from this group mentality asap. Also, this reminded me, I checked the voting video on youtube and it was Denise and Sarah who voted for Nick. Denise seemed to have such a soft spot for Adam and I'm assuming Sarah voted Nick since he dared to not bow down to her.

[kassandra8286]

1 hour ago, LanceM said:

I am not sure that is true at all. I watched the secret scene and they showed her talking with Rob and Ethan how she bought the peanut butter. She also said that she buried it and that they would tell "the others" where it was buried. There was never any mention at all about not telling Danni

Right. Rob (or Ethan, I couldn't tell) asks her how they're going to "manage the consumption" and she says she buried it and "we'll have to find a way to tell the others to sneak off independently because we can't be going off as a group", and Rob says "sounds good". Then Amber joins them and the scene ends. I'm going to assume that "group" means everyone but Yul and Wendell, which goes along with what Natalie expressed in the episode when they were looking for the advantage.

[peachmangosteen]

2 minutes ago, kassandra8286 said:

I'm going to assume that "group" means everyone but Yul and Wendell, which goes along with what Natalie expressed in the episode when they were looking for the advantage.

I don't understand why they're all excluding Yul and Wendell.

[Eolivet]

I keep going back over that tribal council in my head and while I can marginally figure out why Adam thought an idol would be hiding in plain sight, given it was the shape of the other idols, I can't figure out why he didn't give up after he realized it would not come off the table/podium/lecturn?

Because it's one thing to think that medallion is an idol and can be pried free and handed over as an idol. Even the "effing stick" was something that could be handed to Jeff.

It's an entire level of disconnect-from-reality to think the medallion has idol-like powers when it cannot be physically picked up. Survivor might hide an idol in plain sight, but never one you couldn't pick up and hand to Jeff.

I partially blame Jeff for encouraging it, but I don't know why it didn't click in Adam's brain once he couldn't physically pick up the idol, that "what if the idol is the entire set piece and all you have to do is point to it and that's the idol equivalent" is a bridge many, many, many steps too far, even for Survivor production.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, kassandra8286 said:

Right. Rob (or Ethan, I couldn't tell) asks her how they're going to "manage the consumption" and she says she buried it and "we'll have to find a way to tell the others to sneak off independently because we can't be going off as a group", and Rob says "sounds good". Then Amber joins them and the scene ends. I'm going to assume that "group" means everyone but Yul and Wendell, which goes along with what Natalie expressed in the episode when they were looking for the advantage.

Their excitement over the peanut butter in that secret scene was cute, but I'm disappointed that Amber didn't throw in an "Oh my gooddddddd" for old time's sake. And I'm going to avoid the symbolism of Tyson eating pb using a seashell, and Parvati using a stick.

4 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I don't understand why they're all excluding Yul and Wendell.

Based on what Natalie said, my understanding is that Yul and Wendell have been on the Edge the shortest amount of time and haven't "suffered" enough, i.e. they're not as weak as the rest of them yet, and therefore the others want to keep Y/W away from advantages.

[skybolt]

48 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I don't understand why they're all excluding Yul and Wendell.

Parvati clearly dislikes Wendell. I also think that the old school players put 2 and 2 together to figure out that Yul was partially responsible for voting 3 of them out.

Although Parvati hasn't brought her "A" game to this winners season (or wasn't allowed to), she's still a master manipulator. She has a really subtle way of shaping people's opinions, especially towards players who were instrumental in voting her out. My gut tells me that the person Parvati votes for as the eventual winner will be the person who wins Winners at War.

Edited April 9, 2020 by skybolt

[skybolt]

I'm confused about something. Why is everyone starving on EoE when early on Amber caught a fish using a fishing rod, while Dani managed to get a small one via a spear? A couple of weeks ago Rob mentioned that the fishing equipment wan't any good on EoE, but back in "All-Stars" all he needed was a spear to catch 10 or 11 fish at one time "Boston Style". Heck, he can even build a small raft and try and fish in the open sea. Has he become that lazy that he won't even attempt to fish anymore? 

Edited April 9, 2020 by skybolt

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Eolivet said:

I keep going back over that tribal council in my head and while I can marginally figure out why Adam thought an idol would be hiding in plain sight, given it was the shape of the other idols, I can't figure out why he didn't give up after he realized it would not come off the table/podium/lecturn?

Because it's one thing to think that medallion is an idol and can be pried free and handed over as an idol. Even the "effing stick" was something that could be handed to Jeff.

It's an entire level of disconnect-from-reality to think the medallion has idol-like powers when it cannot be physically picked up. Survivor might hide an idol in plain sight, but never one you couldn't pick up and hand to Jeff.

I partially blame Jeff for encouraging it, but I don't know why it didn't click in Adam's brain once he couldn't physically pick up the idol, that "what if the idol is the entire set piece and all you have to do is point to it and that's the idol equivalent" is a bridge many, many, many steps too far, even for Survivor production.

I don't think Adam honestly thought that the whole lectern was an idol. He was probably pretty sure there was no idol once he couldn't pry it off, but he just kept going with it because...why not? I think they were all (Adam, Jeff, players, jury) amused by the ridiculousness of it all and were all caught up in that wave of silliness ("I'd like to play this gigantic wooden thing for myself"), so Adam just kept riding it.

[fishcakes]

15 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

I can’t believe they actually wrote a song about winners at war. 😂 Are we going to have to listen to that crap at every challenge?

I especially liked the way they rhymed "winners at war" with "winners at war." They must have worked on those lyrics for hours!

3 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

And I don't think Jeff was mocking Adam, either. I think he was having a liiitle bit of fun with him with the whole "and you're sure this isn't an idol?", but when Adam went up to get snuffed and said "You have to try", Jeff said "Always." So I think he appreciated the attempt,

I agree. Jeff hates coattailers and UTR players who aren't actively playing. He doesn't much care if someone is a physical or a strategic beast, as long as they're doing something.

Ben doesn't play like Boston Rob, but he was trying to lol. When Ben wouldn't tell Rob who was targeting him, Rob calmly said, "if you don't tell me, then I'll know you're against me," and Ben immediately caved. When Adam wouldn't tell him who said he and Sarah were too close (heh, because it was Adam), Ben threw a fit and walked away. He didn't actually say, "YOU'RE NOT MY BEST FRIEND ANYMORE" but that was the gist of it. I don't hate Ben, but he acts like a four-year-old about half the time. And Adam only acts about 7, so it was a bad bargain from the beginning.

I loved all the chaos in the lead-up to Tribal Council and at TC itself. I have no idea who's allied with whom anymore and it's great. So much better than having one dominant alliance that marches straight to the Final Three.

 

[AncientNewbie]

I felt Tony really looked good this episode with some coherent thinking about gameplay. I disagree that Sarah's gift to Nick was a death sentence, but he looked like more than a clown.

I'm curious how those seemingly uneven reward teams came to be, and then that idea got shot down with the ladies plus Ben not only outmuscling (unexpected, but it was good for Ben to be presented positively for a moment) but outpuzzling (expected.)

I will miss Adam on the main game. He was a chaotic mess, but it was never mean like Kass. He just reacts too openly and demonstratively to play an all-star season. I wasn't a huge fan of him during his season, but I like his normalcy. Not in game play, where he's a wreck that careens farther toward the end than his play should. But applicants and the mactors that get cast all tend to be Ivy Leaguers with side gigs modeling and grating cheese on their abs and seeing a clueless yutz, although probably smarter and prettier in real life than the average, next to Hulks and models on the show made me root for him.

Edited April 9, 2020 by AncientNewbie

[CountryGirl]

I really, really wish that had been an immunity idol or Peachy would have allowed it. Just to see the look on everyone's faces. Although Nick would have gone to EoE and I like him.

Speaking of Nick, good on him quickly turning his sinking ship around. All he had to do was lie to Tyson that his name was being thrown out there.

Also, LOL at Adam here:

So quiet we could literally hear the crickets. 

Still nothing...

Nope...

I've always had a soft spot for Adam after that time in the hammock with Jay. but he was just too damn hyper this time.

At this point, I'm hoping someone from EoE who isn't Tyson makes it back into the game and wins.

 

[iMonrey]

Quote

There are no words that can explain how much i loathe the whispering and crap at tribal. Especially because I feel that it does nothing. get your ish done before you go out, as they say. 

I don't think it changed anything either. I think the plan all along was to split the vote between Nick and Adam. Maybe a few more ended up voting for Adam, but this was all for naught. The way Probst sits back watching without saying anything, and the frequency with which this keeps happening, makes me suspect the producers are encouraging this kind of thing for added drama. 

I'm also really sick of these stupid Fire Tokens. Michelle says "Oh look, I just found this thing in my bag." Um . . . exactly how does that happen? Does someone in production put that in her bag when she isn't looking? Don't tell me the producers are just going to sit around and wait for her to find it. What if she never does?

More likely, she is taken aside by production, handed the big coin thingy and told how it works. There is no way the show can rely on chance for her to leave her bag somewhere so they can slip than in then wait around for her to find it.  And how does she pay for this? Does she go leave her tokens in a tree somewhere, like a Fire Token ATM? This is all so contrived and just reminds me of the chicanery and fakery that goes on in this show.

[princelina]

16 hours ago, Daisy said:

There are no words that can explain how much i loathe the whispering and crap at tribal.

Agree.

14 hours ago, OutOfTheQuestion said:

I'd like to know if Michele's four tokens all went to Parvati, or split 2-2 between Parvati and Danni, or if the Edge group immediately spent all four on peanut butter.  Did anyone get a look at the Edge "menu" to see how much peanut butter actually cost?

I can't imagine Tyson spent 4 tokens on it!  Did he?

[Guest]

56 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

Ben doesn't play like Boston Rob, but he was trying to lol. When Ben wouldn't tell Rob who was targeting him, Rob calmly said, "if you don't tell me, then I'll know you're against me," and Ben immediately caved. When Adam wouldn't tell him who said he and Sarah were too close (heh, because it was Adam), Ben threw a fit and walked away. He didn't actually say, "YOU'RE NOT MY BEST FRIEND ANYMORE" but that was the gist of it. I don't hate Ben, but he acts like a four-year-old about half the time. And Adam only acts about 7, so it was a bad bargain from the beginning.

 

Here I go defending Ben again, but I actually thought he was fine there. He asked a question, Adam gave the world's shiftiest non-answer, so Ben said "ok" and started to leave. Adam kept talking to him as he was leaving, trying to explain his shifty answer, and Ben just kept raising his hands saying "ok". It got a little testy, because it's Adam and Ben, but I thought Ben kept his cool pretty well. That time. Tribal Council was a different, glorious, story.

[Growsonwalls]

2 hours ago, skybolt said:

Parvati clearly dislikes Wendell. I also think that the old school players put 2 and 2 together to figure out that Yul was partially responsible for voting 3 of them out.

Although Parvati hasn't brought her "A" game to this winners season (or wasn't allowed to), she's still a master manipulator. She has a really subtle way of shaping people's opinions, especially towards players who were instrumental in voting her out. My gut tells me that the person Parvati votes for as the eventual winner will be the person who wins Winners at War.

I'd love to see Parvati play Big Brother. 

I;m a little confused about EoE and the food they're given. Clearly they're not starving. Are they given the same rice that the players still in the game are given?

[Lamima]

19 minutes ago, princelina said:

Agree.

I can't imagine Tyson spent 4 tokens on it!  Did he?

A quick google look and I found article that said jar of PB was 1 token. Maybe she kept the other tokens. 

[kassandra8286]

18 minutes ago, princelina said:

I can't imagine Tyson spent 4 tokens on it!  Did he?

No, they showed the initial EOE menu and peanut butter cost one token. Tyson only had one at the time, the one he found and then pretended he was peeing so Rob wouldn't suspect anything, lol. The second token he found he spent on the return challenge advantage.

So I guess they gave either gave them a new menu with higher prices, or Parvati still has three tokens left??  Not sure. 

[blackwing]

2 hours ago, skybolt said:

I'm confused about something. Why is everyone starving on EoE when early on Amber caught a fish using a fishing rod, while Dani managed to get a small one via a spear? A couple of weeks ago Rob mentioned that the fishing equipment wan't any good on EoE, but back in "All-Stars" all he needed was a spear to catch 10 or 11 fish at one time "Boston Style". Heck, he can even build a small raft and try and fish in the open sea. Has he become that lazy that he won't even attempt to fish anymore? 

Did you see last season?  I’m thinking the answer is that he is obviously incredibly exhausted from building that Incredible three story bamboo mansion, ALL BY HIMSELF.  Snort.  

“Sandruh and I lived out here on our own with nobody giving us anything.  I’m tahhed of being the providah.  Somebody else can catch fish!”

[meep.meep]

From Joe Reid's recap:

"Even though immunity idols have occasionally been hidden in plain sight before, there are clues that are given that point to their existence. "

In China the idols were in plain sight in camp and no clues were given.  They were medallions on the shelter posts (shelters were pre-made by production).

Since they didn't show the votes, I assume that the votes for Nick were just backup in case Adam had an idol.

Song = terrible idea

 

[fishcakes]

1 hour ago, tracyscott76 said:

Here I go defending Ben again, but I actually thought he was fine there. He asked a question, Adam gave the world's shiftiest non-answer, so Ben said "ok" and started to leave. Adam kept talking to him as he was leaving, trying to explain his shifty answer, and Ben just kept raising his hands saying "ok". It got a little testy, because it's Adam and Ben, but I thought Ben kept his cool pretty well. That time. Tribal Council was a different, glorious, story.

You may be right. It's possible that Ben's Cookie Monster/Mike Holloway voice makes me see him as being in a state of constant hysteria.

[Maggie Mae]

Where can you find the secret scene with Parvati and the PB??